Monday, September 6, 2010

Radio for backup!

So on Thursday last week, I bit the bullet! (I can’t imagine that would taste so nice in real life, but it’s quiet invigorating in metaphor). I steeled my nerves, reached into the dark cranky nook of a dark cranny nook and removed, in my trembling hand, an ancient cassette playing radio! Indiana Jones never felt more heady a sense of triumph!

See, I’ve decided that since I’m a divorced woman of the world (it’s been over a month, it counts!); I should at the very least have some connection to it, however vicariously! I remember someone asked me if I had tickets to Joburg day and I had to ask what Joburg day was? Apparently it’s one of those things everyone but myself seems to know right off the bat. And what if a giant fruit festival was coming to town and I missed it?
It could happen!

But now I’ve managed to even the score a little! That was my thought as I washed what seemed like a century of dust off the radio. I noticed the plug was a bit rusty but I was assured by Ursh that it would still work fine. I was a bit dubious at first but decided that she’s the one who’ll have to remove my crisped body if the current backfires on me, and then she’ll be sorry, so there!



The plug went in okay and no one died. < - - very grateful for this.

Now came the fun bit. Jovvi hunting around the radio trying to find the ‘on’ switch! I mean there has to be one right? How else do you get the noise to come out? *shakes radio hopefully*
But I just couldn’t find it!
Eventually I realized the little tab saying ‘Tape _____Radio’ should probably be on Radio! I moved it with hopeful expectation and TADA, it worked!! (I’m not sure if I was more grateful for that or for the fact that no one got to see my red face, how obvious!)

But now the radio was blaring out the fuzzy sounds of what seemed to be a very angry black man, talking Xhosa or Zulu or Martian and getting mighty worked up over something. Appealing as that was I decided to change the station. I moved the knobby backwards and forwards but all it did was GRRRRR and SSSSSH and go back to the dark dude in danger of having a stroke.
I checked the switch; yes it’s on FM, so where’s all the other stations?
Once again inspiration tapped me lightly on the shoulder and whispered that my hunt might go easier if I moved the actual dial switch and not the volume switch…

Oh good grief!

I’m happy to say that when I started doing things the right way, my oh my, it actually worked! Isn’t it funny how that goes?

Now of course I just have to use it. Silly as it seems it sort of feels like cheating. There’s a sort of interestingly happy feeling in not knowing what Lady Gaga sounds like, or what’s going on in the world (The news is never puppies and rainbows).

Still Hudson, put your backbone front and forward! (Alright that doesn’t make sense but it sounds good…).
*Turns radio on*
And so it begins!